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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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 Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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| PC Parrot wrote: |
You keep talking about a Hungarian teacher's salary. Perhaps I have misunderstood something, but is this the same salary that non-Hungarians earn through CETP?
If so, you are working the first 6 months for free (?). Or do non-hungarians not get a salary at all? |
I thought you had asked me about salaries, which is why I keep talking about them. Yes, non-Hungarians CETP teachers get the same salary as a similarly-qualified Hungarian teacher does. So for example, if you have a bachelor's degree and 4 years teaching experience, you will get what a Hungarian of the same experience and degree level will get.
Addressing your second point--Yes, if you pay the initial $2,500 and count the 5-6 months worth of salary it takes to earn it, you are essentially working for free. However, the second year renewal fee is about $750 dollars or $1,000 if you need to change schools and have them do your paperwork all over again. Obviously this is not a way to make money, but you do get a fully-furnished flat with no utility bills and FREE EU work permits which are transferable to permanent residency. It's just a personal question whether or not the financial trade-off is worth it. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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We should be clear about what 'permanent residency' entails. Not sure what the rules are in Hungary, but you would need to live/work there for how long before getting the permanent residency? Is there a Hungarian language test? Other requirements?
Also keep in mind that having permanent residency in an EU member country does NOT give one the automatic right to work in other EU member countries - only in the country one has the residency for. In this case, then, so long as one is content in Hungary, it's fine, but Hungarian permanent residency won't give one the right to get a legal job in Spain or Italy, for example. |
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Xie Lin
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Keskaa wrote: |
Obviously this is not a way to make money, but you do get a fully-furnished flat with no utility bills and FREE EU work permits which are transferable to permanent residency. It's just a personal question whether or not the financial trade-off is worth it. |
Also health insurance, as I understand it?
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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
We should be clear about what 'permanent residency' entails. Not sure what the rules are in Hungary, but you would need to live/work there for how long before getting the permanent residency? Is there a Hungarian language test? Other requirements?
Also keep in mind that having permanent residency in an EU member country does NOT give one the automatic right to work in other EU member countries - only in the country one has the residency for. In this case, then, so long as one is content in Hungary, it's fine, but Hungarian permanent residency won't give one the right to get a legal job in Spain or Italy, for example. |
Permanent residency in Hungary can be achieved through 5 continuous years of uninterrupted (read: non-expired visa). After that, it's just 3 more years for citizenship. As far as what my school has told me, there is no Hungarian language test for permanent residency. There is a small Hungarian language test for citizenship, but it basically is no more than A2 level, and the questions are brief and centered around general Hungarian history, which would be impossible to learn about after having spent 8 years with Hungarians (they love to talk about history even if they hate their own history). I'm looking for permanent residency as a means to a Hungarian passport, which is why I felt it important to mention. |
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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Xie Lin wrote: |
| Keskaa wrote: |
Obviously this is not a way to make money, but you do get a fully-furnished flat with no utility bills and FREE EU work permits which are transferable to permanent residency. It's just a personal question whether or not the financial trade-off is worth it. |
Also health insurance, as I understand it?
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Yes, you get access to state health insurance, which is an 18% "tax" deduction on your pay. You do not pay Hungarian income tax, which is about 16%, for the first two years due to CETP's agreement with the Hungarian government. |
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PC Parrot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009
Posts: 459
Location: Moral Police Station
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 2:45 am Post subject: |
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| Keskaa wrote: |
| PC Parrot wrote: |
You keep talking about a Hungarian teacher's salary. Perhaps I have misunderstood something, but is this the same salary that non-Hungarians earn through CETP?
If so, you are working the first 6 months for free (?). Or do non-hungarians not get a salary at all? |
I thought you had asked me about salaries, which is why I keep talking about them. Yes, non-Hungarians CETP teachers get the same salary as a similarly-qualified Hungarian teacher does. So for example, if you have a bachelor's degree and 4 years teaching experience, you will get what a Hungarian of the same experience and degree level will get.
Addressing your second point--Yes, if you pay the initial $2,500 and count the 5-6 months worth of salary it takes to earn it, you are essentially working for free. However, the second year renewal fee is about $750 dollars or $1,000 if you need to change schools and have them do your paperwork all over again. Obviously this is not a way to make money, but you do get a fully-furnished flat with no utility bills and FREE EU work permits which are transferable to permanent residency. It's just a personal question whether or not the financial trade-off is worth it. |
And as you later mention, you are doing it as a means of acquiring Hungarian citizenship 8 years after first starting. Other people need to be aware that this is probably why it seems like a good option to you.
You sound like you are living in your own apartment. However, it does say that some people will be staying in a hostel with sign in and sign out procedures for guests. Not so good when you consider you are paying for it - even though it is free.
For people thinking of doing it for a year or two, they would need a considerable amount of money for it to work for them. From my understanding, they would need money for:
The $2,500 fee
Accom for 2 months each year, as it mentions you only get it for 10 months
The 2 months of each year that they say you do not get paid
Travel & holidays
The $1,000 fee
Accom for 2 months each year, as it mentions you only get it for 10 months
The 2 months of each year that they say you do not get paid
Travel & holidays |
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delphian-domine
Joined: 11 Mar 2011
Posts: 674
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:51 am Post subject: |
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| Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would a qualified teacher pay to teach in a public school in CEE? They would walk into a public school job almost anywhere in the region if they were willing to accept the salary, and the school wouldn't have any problem getting a work permit and so on. |
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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:20 am Post subject: |
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| PC Parrot wrote: |
| Keskaa wrote: |
| PC Parrot wrote: |
You keep talking about a Hungarian teacher's salary. Perhaps I have misunderstood something, but is this the same salary that non-Hungarians earn through CETP?
If so, you are working the first 6 months for free (?). Or do non-hungarians not get a salary at all? |
I thought you had asked me about salaries, which is why I keep talking about them. Yes, non-Hungarians CETP teachers get the same salary as a similarly-qualified Hungarian teacher does. So for example, if you have a bachelor's degree and 4 years teaching experience, you will get what a Hungarian of the same experience and degree level will get.
Addressing your second point--Yes, if you pay the initial $2,500 and count the 5-6 months worth of salary it takes to earn it, you are essentially working for free. However, the second year renewal fee is about $750 dollars or $1,000 if you need to change schools and have them do your paperwork all over again. Obviously this is not a way to make money, but you do get a fully-furnished flat with no utility bills and FREE EU work permits which are transferable to permanent residency. It's just a personal question whether or not the financial trade-off is worth it. |
And as you later mention, you are doing it as a means of acquiring Hungarian citizenship 8 years after first starting. Other people need to be aware that this is probably why it seems like a good option to you.
You sound like you are living in your own apartment. However, it does say that some people will be staying in a hostel with sign in and sign out procedures for guests. Not so good when you consider you are paying for it - even though it is free.
For people thinking of doing it for a year or two, they would need a considerable amount of money for it to work for them. From my understanding, they would need money for:
The $2,500 fee
Accom for 2 months each year, as it mentions you only get it for 10 months
The 2 months of each year that they say you do not get paid
Travel & holidays
The $1,000 fee
Accom for 2 months each year, as it mentions you only get it for 10 months
The 2 months of each year that they say you do not get paid
Travel & holidays |
After reading these aggressive posts, I have but three remaining things to say.
First of all, I don't know where this "you're paying for it" for accommodation comes from. The fee includes arrangement of housing, which can be extremely difficult. It also covers the cost of having someone find it for you. VERY few people stay in dorms--to my knowledge only 2-3 out of 70. The SCHOOL pays for your rent, and CETP has to pay for their time to arrange it for you. Simple. That's all. NOTHING in Europe is free.
Second, You get full accommodation for 12 months of the year if you stay on with the same school, so again, I don't know where you are getting this 10 months, no summer pay thing. Only if you decide to change schools do you forgo summer accommodation, as it has to be arranged during the summer holiday when all teachers are at work. You DO get paid for summer holiday if you stay at the same school. If you sign up for one semester without the 12-months of accommodation, you then have a choice to extend your stay and get the same benefits that full-year teachers get.
Travel and holidays are always, of course, your own responsibility, so I don't understand why this is an issue.
Third, if someone doesn't have the money to pay the fee and have EVERYTHING arranged for you, that's certainly a stumbling block. However, if you don't like it, don't complain about it and find another way, of which there are, but none of which are this simple. I paid the fee, got a work visa, got free housing arranged for me, got a great job with amazing colleagues, got constant, 24/7 in-country and American-side support, got the chance to travel, for free, around Europe with my school...It's up to the individual whether or not freeing yourself of the hassle of doing it yourself is worth it.
I am simply trying to help and will no longer be responding to posts which are hinting that I'm somehow lying or covering up the truth. I'm not a professional program reviewer--this is just my own personal experience and I'm telling it as best I can. I find it extremely unfair to be attacked as though I'm lying or being intentionally untruthful. However, I am not completely naive as to think that the internet is a fair place. |
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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:21 am Post subject: |
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| delphian-domine wrote: |
| Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would a qualified teacher pay to teach in a public school in CEE? They would walk into a public school job almost anywhere in the region if they were willing to accept the salary, and the school wouldn't have any problem getting a work permit and so on. |
I paid for it because it was simple. Full stop. I had the money and I came from a place before this which was notoriously horrible for foreign teachers. I had had enough. I wanted a change, and I wanted assurances, both of which I got. That is all.
And by the way, there are many qualified teachers here who hold licenses, and they will tell you the same answer that I did. Also, there are several with Master's degrees, too. Several of these people with whom I've spoken chose CETP because of the simplicity--they had done Europe before and were unable to get adequate housing which they didn't have to share with 2 other people. They found that too high a chunk of their salary went toward housing, so even if you earned 1,000 euro a month and you paid 450 of that in housing, you're still not better off than in Hungary. It's just a choice that one makes, and nobody should be judged by their choice. If one wants to make it on their own like I have done in every other country before this one, one is welcome to do so. It's just a choice--plain and simple.
Final note on this "Just walk into any school in Europe." That is indeed very far from the truth. The competition is so, so high that you can't walk into any international school teaching job here. I know because I have visited several job fairs in the Middle East which were recruiting for European international schools. In addition, I have spoken with people in international schools in Hungary, France, and Italy. All of them are in their late 40's, MS Ed. holders, and have 15+ years of experience. Their schools won't hire anyone unless they can feel assured that the financial hassle in getting their work visas is worth the teacher's skill and experience.
In order to be seriously in the running for good international schools, you need at least a Masters + several years of grade-level experience with either IB curriculum or the American AP system. They don't mess around. Since I don't have a Master's and I have no AP/IB experience, I can't just walk into any school and get a job. OF COURSE there will be exceptions to this rule, but in general, this is what they are looking for in most candidates. |
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Keskaa
Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 21
Location: Somewhere in the great wide open
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:36 am Post subject: Getting off topic |
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| This thread has gone significantly off topic. If anyone has any legitimate questions about the CETP experience, please do respond. If you want to attack me, a paying member of this program who has no influence on the program whatsoever, please go elsewhere. I'm simply sharing my experience as best I can. It's hard to know what to say and what not to say because I'm just ONE person sharing ONE point of view. |
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